Nicole Beckman, MD, calls herself a farm girl at heart.
That’s one reason Dr. Beckman, a graduate of the UNMC College of Medicine and part of the Advanced Family Medicine Training Program, plans to become a rural family medicine physician, hopefully somewhere near her hometown of Elgin, Nebraska, when she completes her residency.
“Next year, I will be going out to Family Practice of Grand Island for two years to complete my family medicine residency at CHI St. Francis and Grand Island Regional Medical Center, as well as some private practices in town,” she said.
Dr. Beckman is part of this year’s class of 253 house officers, the residents and fellows who will be taking the next step of their medical journey here at UNMC.
Dr. Beckman has been on rotations since the week after graduating in May. The extra training, as well as the opportunity to avoid the stress of residency matching applications, were part of what attracted her to the program.
“Also, I was still able to apply to the rural training track, knowing I wanted to do rural family medicine in the end,” she said.
Dr. Beckman grew up on a farm and as a youth, she pitched in to help her father when needed. Her father had lost his own father to cancer when he was a child, and the impact of that loss made an impression on the future doctor.
“Watching my dad hurt, that was something that stayed with me,” she said. “I decided I wanted to help patients and their families going through hard times.”
Initially, Dr. Beckman was interested in treating cancer – that was the disease that took her grandfather when he was only 49 – but as an undergraduate at Bryan College of Health Sciences in Lincoln, she soon realized how much she loved and missed what she calls “small-town Nebraska.”
And as she shadowed family medicine physicians in places including Albion, Nebraska, another thing became clear: “I loved the relationships the physicians had with their patients, relationships that sometimes went back generations. They get to know them as a whole person, they see them out in the community. I realized that’s what I loved the most about medicine.”
Chandra Are, MBBS, associate dean of graduate medical education, said Dr. Beckman is an example of the commitment and passion of the house officers who have joined UNMC this June. Residency and fellowship is a key time in a doctor’s career, he said.
“Our house officers, like Dr. Beckman, arrive at UNMC with clear goals for their careers and the passion and drive to succeed in their efforts,” he said. “It is a privilege to help these fine professionals reach their goals here at UNMC.”
Dr. Are also commended the entire team in the GME Office for ensuring that this year’s orientation occurred in a seamless fashion. This is one of the largest onboarding of new employees that happens on the med center campus, and it proceeds smoothly only because of their hard work, Dr. Are said.
“Once again, we have onboarded 253 new house officers flawlessly,” he said. “Our team, consisting of Erin Snow, Rachel Nelsen, Amy Guziec and Arianne Marcoux, work tirelessly to support our new residents and fellows in their time of transition.
“We feel so fortunate that we play a role in training these amazing young individuals who hold the candle to the future of health care in America.”
Congratulations on your journey, Dr. Beckman. We need more doctors focusing on the healthcare needs of populations that are underserved. And giving back to our communities.